


Converting His Memories

by AppleCuts



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Anxiety Attacks, Depression, Gen, I'm Sorry, Poor Tony Stark, Psychological Torture, Tony Needs a Hug, Torture, brain wash, he has anxiety, look at him, winter soldier tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:22:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleCuts/pseuds/AppleCuts
Summary: Ten words. Ten words could completely shut the genius out of his very own mind.These ten words were repeated daily.Today was the official birth of the Asset.Today was the official death of Tony Stark.(yep, back from Hiatus with a new, and improved "Converting Memories")





	1. Of Life and Death (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> A new beginning!! To be fair... the prologue isn't much different than the first one... like at all. Just a few things are switched. Hope you enjoy! Happy to be back in the fandom!

Everything was a blur. The sweet murmurs of incoherent voices made his head spin, as the lights seemed to dance above his head. The genius thoughts that had once upon a time created revolutionary weapons were slurred, unclear, almost as if he were drunk. It created tension in his head, like being stretched, and moulded like putty, or being in a blender. 

Nothing made sense. Nothing was clear. His thoughts were distorted. His personality was being ripped apart, and something else entirely new was shoved in. The memories that he had once held dear—his mom, friends, accomplishments—all flushed down a mental drain. The Avengers, once a team, even a family, to him, now a threat. Thoughts that were once his, now were orders, all coming from a computer. It was like his entire identity was now just programming on a screen. It was the worst, yet most numbed feeling he had ever felt. 

HYDRA 'heads', and soldiers were all around him, strapping wires to his head, and limbs. He didn’t even feel the shock anymore—he didn't know that he was screaming through the gag. It took two years—almost three—to get to this point, but they have finally broken him. The once cocky, genius, playboy was now their newest addition to their toy collection. They unmade him, and put him back together the way they wanted, like spare parts. 

He'd sometimes snap out of it, screaming and crying for the Avengers to save him from becoming a Winter Soldier like the Captain's old friend. They had a quick fix, unfortunately. Putting him back in the chair, and electrocuting the life out of him, before repeating ten specific Russian words—Her, television, robotics, man, night, alone, beer, dresser, pool, and iron. It's different for everyone. 

His voice was losing against the gag, and his eyes were screwed shut so tight, that when he opened them it took a minute for his eyesight to come back. Really, it wasn't him seeing through his calculating brown eyes, it was the Asset. The Asset, as in the codes behind his new identity—it's what giving him his Winter Soldier 'thoughts' as _they_ liked to say. HYDRA doesn't call him the Winter Soldier, just Asset. He wasn't quite at soldier level in their humble opinion. 

The Asset didn't know when the pain stopped, let alone started, only the familiar body reacted to it. The Asset was programmed to not discern the feeling of pain, or emotion. It was like HYDRA had just shut that part of his brain off. They could stop his brain from feeling it, not his body--which led to the Asset involuntarily shouting out in pain or passing out. Pain held him back from completing assignments, or missions. Pain is a weakness to HYDRA, and they couldn't— _wouldn't_ tolerate that. 

"Alright, shut it off," One of HYRDA's head ordered, opening a journal with a star on the front. 

The woman to his left quickly pulled a lever, which had shut off the machine. The screams that echoed through the room quickly vanished. He was now choking on the gag, desperate for some air—he settled after a couple seconds. 

"Her, television, robotics, man, night, alone, beer, dresser, pool, iron." The man waited for the Asset's eyes to focus on him. "Good evening, Asset." The head closed the book gently. Some of the other soldiers roughly pulled off his restraints and gag. The wires also came off. 

"Ready to comply," The Asset murmured, his dead brown eyes staring straight ahead. 

"Assess, inform, repair," The head pronounced, pulling a gun from the woman beside him. 

HYDRA is smart. They only took away his memories, not knowledge. They could use him for many things. 

Asset opened his mouth to speak, and did what was told. The head smirked. This was the first day the Asset did so without hesitation. 

Today was the official birth of the Asset. 

Today was the official death of Tony Stark.


	2. And a Dead Bird (One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mission rises with the ever annoying HYDRA, and Tony learns why he shouldn't test missiles in his own household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get this out of the way... this fic is in a messed up timeline? Let me explain, this takes place after Ultron, but he still has the arc-reactor. They all live in the tower, Peter Parker is already fifteen (I'm sure he wasn't even SpiderMan during AoU?? Tbh I'm not sure) Happy still works for Tony, and Tony owns Stark Industries with the help of Pepper... Yep, I think that covers it.  
> Anyways... ON WITH THE FIRST CHAPTER YAY  
> Ps, this is unedited.

He knew that everyone was frustrated with him. He could feel their eyes burning holes through the back of his head, but he chose to ignore them. The room was quiet, which was most likely the reason why they were fed up with the millionaire's antics. To be fair, he wasn't doing anything particularly _annoying_ per se, but apparently tapping his fingers to the rhythm of All Star by Smash Mouth was enough to tick them off. 

In the corner of his eye, he noticed Wanda clench her jaw, eyes dead set on his rhythmic fingers. If she was so peeved by his newfound musician side, she could stop him if she absolutely wanted to. Though, even after months after the whole Ultron event, Wanda still refused to really acknowledge Starks presence. He hasn't heard her voice in a while. 

Which gave him an idea. A stupid idea, but it was an idea. People's temper can only be worn so thin, he was curious to see when she would snap and finally acknowledge him formally. 

So, like any genius would, he added in his feet. 

Five-hundred-dollar shoes were now bouncing off the ground, leaving a small tapping noise. It reminded Tony almost of Peppers shoes... his mind wondered if he, by an accident, bought tap shoes without noticing. 

The annoyance was coming from the rest of the team like sweat, it was almost gross. 

"Tony," Clint's annoyed grunt sounded from behind him. "I swear to god if you don't stop, I'm going to shove those high heels so far up your ass you'll be tasting them till your eighty." 

Tony made a sound of indignance. "Hey!" He swirled around in his chair till he was meet face to face with the offending archer. "Don't make such lewd suggestions around the baby!" 

"What baby?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Tony pointed a finger at Wanda. "The baby that’s still ignoring me." 

Wanda shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm not ignoring you," Her green eyes moved onto the playboy's face. "And I'm not a baby." Her accent seemed thicker. Tony guessed that she was sulking. 

This startled a laugh out of Tony. "First of all, you're under eighteen. Therefore, a baby basically. Toddler at most. Secondly, you've been ignoring me ever since Sokovia, and everyone here knows that. You can't just go around saying that you're not a baby, and then act like one." 

"Tony," Steve tried to cut in but was quickly hushed by the quickly angered teenage girl. 

"Oh, I'm the one acting like a baby, really? Really, Stark?" She seemed to be taking the bait. Natasha was feeling distaste rolling off Wanda's shoulders, and could only guess that what she was about to say was not going to be... okay. 

"Well, at least I've actually taken up to my guilt. I've actually apologized for what I've done, like a mature person. Unlike you, Stark." 

_Welp,_ Clint thought to himself, _this went from zero to a hundred real fast._

Tony didn't say anything. He placed his poker face smirk on his face and kept the emotions out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by someone entering the room. 

"Jesus Christ, can you guys actually work like a team off the battlefield for once. I'm getting real sick of having to walk into tense rooms." The man with the eyepatch said as he set down his case files. Steve smiled apologetically at the man, and then turned back to the childish people, and glared at them. 

Tony bit his tongue, refraining from rolling his eyes at the bigger man. His fingers started the tune back up. Clint sighed deeply, which triggered a smirk from Tony. 

"Alright, you kids done?" Fury asked, opening the case file and handing it to Steve, who immediately dived straight into reading it. His brow immediately furrowed, and the vein in his forehead was threatening to pop out. 

"More HYDRA?" Sam asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit. 

Steve hummed in confirmation. "Yep, and actually, this has more do with your little friend, Rogers." 

Said man looked up from the file, looking confused. "Bucky?" 

"There have been rumours that there is more than one, quote-unquote, Winter Soldier. Or at least they’re planning to have more in their collection." Fury informed, leaning on the desk. 

"Is there any actual facts of there being more than Barnes?" Natasha asked, looking skeptical at the rumours. 

Nick lightly shook his head. "No, but we have reason to believe that it could be possible. HYDRA is good at hiding... hiding in plain sight. So, who really knows. That's where this mission comes in." 

"You want us to break into a base and get information?" Steve guessed, to which Nick nodded again. 

Tony cleared his throat. "Okay, wait. What is your 'reason to believe' for the new and upcoming class of 'How to be the Winter Soldier 101'?" 

It was quiet after Tony asked. Everyone seemed to be asking that question, and Fury knew he couldn't just exactly give up their biggest advantages towards HYDRA yet. Even if it was to the Earths Mightiest Heroes. Nick simply stared at Tony for a few seconds, thinking over his words, specifically leaving out one secret. 

"You do know that my men go out on missions without the Avengers sometimes, right? We've heard rumours from there that they are getting a shipment of more super soldier serum in just over a year." 

Tony let out a non-committed huff of a laugh. "Seems like an oddly specific rumour." 

Nick shrugged in reply. 

"Rumours are rumours. Again, that's why we need this mission to be a success. Can we count on you?" Nick seemed to be giving Tony an accusing eye. 

Tony tried not to let the pang of hurt show on his face. He let out a fake laugh. "Of course, eye-patch. When could you not?" Tony smiled sweetly at the intimidating man. 

"When Ultron rose." Nick held no humour. 

Tony stayed quiet. 

"So, what are the mission specifics?" Steve asked, ignoring the tension that had stretched within the room. 

Good ol' Cap, keeping it professional. 

 

~~~~~ 

 

" _Another_ mission," Pepper didn't look pleased with the news. 

Tony took a swing of his coffee, trying to ignore the building stress of the impending argument. "It's not really my choice, Pep. It's HYDRA, they come back like- like- like a hydra." Pepper gave him a flat glare at his attempt at the analogy. "What? I kind of blanked." 

Pepper sighed. "I get that HYDRA keeps coming back, but..." She frowned, looking uneasy. "You need breaks." 

"I-I need to help. I'm not just going to give up on the team," Tony said, showing an uncharacteristically serious side of him. "It's the least I can do after the Ultron incident." 

Pepper frowned off him, about to list off why the Ultron incident wasn't his fault but was cut off by FRIDAY. 

_"Boss, Mark forty-five is at ninety-five percent charge."_

"Thanks, FRIDAY," Tony mumbled, knowing that this wasn't a time that Pepper would like to hear that news. 

Pepper crossed her arms. "Why did FRIDAY tell you that?" 

"I have to, uh, test Mark forty-five before I go on the field. Considering how damaged it had been after the last time." Tony said, sheepishly. 

"Tony-" He cut her off. 

"Sorry, Pep. We'll continue this conversation after, yeah? I would like to get this done before we head to bed, okay?" Tony gave her a small smile, pecking her on the forehead. She sighed, giving in. 

Pepper picked up what was left of their pizza that they eaten together and tossed it onto the kitchen counter. "I'm giving you till ten, got it? You don't get to stay up till five in the morning, especially since you have a meeting at noon." 

Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "A meeting?" 

"You didn't listen to Happy when he was driving you home, did you?" She looked disappointed. 

"To be fair, I was too busy recoding Mark forty-five on my tablet." 

"You have a meeting at noon about some interns. There is about twenty of them. So, you had better get some sleep. You get snappy otherwise." She started walking away from Tony, and towards the elevator. 

Tony immediately pulled out his phone, checking Happy's email that he sent him. It, as Pepper had said, contained Happy's information about the meeting, or rather interview. It also had a bunch of colourful language about Tony never listening to Happy. It made him snort at Happys wording choices. 

_Jim Mayor_

_Maya Everhart_

_John Laurens_

_Riley Matten_

_Armin Arlert_

_Patricia Johnson_

_Peter Parker_

He stopped reading the names after that, a smirk appearing on his face. The name was familiar, and it triggered some awfully smug memories. Like the memory of when he finally figured out Spiderman's identity. In fact, exactly like that, considering that was the only memory tied to the name. He already knew he was going to hire him. He sent out an email approving Peter Parker to be interned at Stark Industries. He didn't bother approving anyone else. 

FRIDAY had already scanned through all the kid's backgrounds, and ironically, the only that was suitable for the internship was the Spider-Boy. Oh, how fate seems to play with us, Tony thought to himself. 

Tossing the tablet onto the couch, he finally made his way downstairs and into his lab. As he walked in, the lights turned on, and his machines whirled in happiness to have their creator back with them. 

"Alright," Tony clapped his hands together. "Let's get down to business," He snapped his fingers to notify FRIDAY to initiate his suit being moulded to his body... metaphorically of course. It was really just the suit being placed on him with the help of his 'children'. "To defeat, the..." Tony struggled to come up with a good, rhythmic word for HYDRA. He simply shrugged, and let his robots put his suit on him. 

_"Feel alright, boss?"_

"Yup, fits like a glove... other than the pinching in my thigh. I think I may need to meld that a bit bigger."  


_"Of course, boss. Shall I set a reminder?"_

"Mm, no, it's fine. I'll do it right after this test." Tony smiled when he was finally suited up. "Alright, test number one. I have, hopefully, successfully repaired mark forty-five, and added a couple more specs—missile re-routing and scanning sensors for injuries. Put the date and time on screen. Let's go" Tony directed his voice towards DUM-E, though was staring directly at the holograms giving him feedback on how well his suit was reacting. 

_"The suit is online, and is ready for testing at ninety-seven percent charge, boss."_

"Scan 'em!" 

The suit did as instructed, scanning the entire building. It worked to an extent, as it only showed him people whose heart rate were above 120 beats per minute. Tony noticed that he could see that Clint was running downstairs, and Thor was... he guessed excited. Tony briefly wondered if the team had finally bought more pop-tarts for him. 

"Alright, I'll have to fix that. Uh, how are the missiles?" He asked. 

_"Online, fourteen are ready for combat. While two missiles are at four percent. If they were to be used, a small explosion would occur."_

"How big is small?" 

_"Big enough to kill a bird, and small enough to give a person a concussion, at the most."_

Tony sighed, looking somewhat uneasy at the camera. He shrugged. "Well, how about the _other_ scanner?" 

He then could see the scans that were the same as before but could tell that Clint was exhausted from running, and needed sleep. Hm. 

"Friday, inform Natashalie that her bird boyfriend is dying downstairs." 

Tony then held out his arm, sending out missiles towards the stairs. Which, in hindsight, was a terrible idea, but he needed to know if he could call them back and have them _not_ explode. So, he used the smaller missiles. 

He flicked his finger to call them back, and they turned at the last second, almost hitting the stairs by a hair. They were a meter away from the original location when they fell at Tony's feet. 

He froze for a second, waiting to be blown back. Nothing happened. 

He let out a nervous chuckle. 

"I thought you said they woul-!" He was blown back. 

DUM-E sprayed him with the fire extinguisher. 

 

~~~~~ 

 

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Rhodey handed him the shot of scotch, glaring at him. Tony only smirked weakly, still hearing his sizzling hair. 

"Why didn't the team hear the explosion?" Tony asked, avoiding his friends' gaze. 

Rhodey sighed. "I had arrived only five minutes before the explosion, but when we did hear it, I threatened them into not coming." He smiled sweetly at his friend. 

"Wha- why?" Tony stuttered, raising an eyebrow. This wasn't like Rhodey, and it didn't make sense. 

"You really think that they wouldn't have done something reckless... like start a fight about how stupid you are?" 

"FRIDAY said the worst I could get from that one was an explosion... and a dead bird." Tony shrugged at Rhodey, who took a deep breath to refrain from screaming at the man. 

"Better keep Clint away from it," Rhodey smirked over his glass. 

Tony snorted a laugh and made FRIDAY record that zinger. It wasn't often he heard Rhodey roast his teammates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone got all my reference to different fandoms, you deserve a cookie.


End file.
